Video: See How Blank Transmission Gears are Forged at Eaton

You rely on your transmission to get you around town practically every day and certainly rely on it to get you to then end of the track, but have you ever thought about how the gears inside of it come to be? Well, if have a heavy duty transmission in your Ford (or an Eaton transmission), chances are that it has gears from Eaton and thanks to this video from Overdun Productions, you can now see how they’re produced. Check out the process above.

The transmission gears that are forged by Eaton start out as long lengths of steel which are then cut into varying lengths. These are then heated up and shaped into blank gears through a flashless forging process where the steel is placed in a shaped die (mold) and a shaped hammer drops down on top of it to create the shape and contours of a specific gear. Over 80 percent of Eaton’s forging is done using the flashless process.

Gear blanks then move down a conveyor to cool properly, producing a product that’s not too hard or cooled too quickly. From there the gears move to shipping and receiving to be shipped out to shops, transmission companies and other customers.

In addition to using advanced technologies in their forging processes, Eaton strives to make the work environment for their employees the safest it can possibly be. This includes having air conditioning units at each station to keep workers cool and enforcing safety guidelines. Eaton’s safety efforts have even earned them awards.

You may not pay your transmission gears much consideration on a daily basis but without them, you wouldn’t get anywhere. Thanks to Eaton, heavy duty transmissions across the country are getting the quality gears needed to help you continue enjoying your vehicle.